


contraband noodles

by raffinit



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/M, Gen, guest starring suspicious ramen noodles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 14:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9074977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raffinit/pseuds/raffinit
Summary: Joel and Tess stumble on a different kind of trade





	

They’re settling down from a meet with Bill in his apartment, poking through their boxes of guns and ammo and supplies they’ve traded with the man. Joel’s sitting by the couch organizing their guns and Tess is sitting cross legged on the kitchen counter rifling through edible goods to keep away; she pretends not to hear him whenever he’s chiding her to get off the counter and instead rambles on at the man as she reads off the old and worn labels of cans of beans and corned beef hash or beef jerky.

She falls quiet for a long moment; Joel’s almost relieved for the silence and yet concerned at the same time because Tess isn’t one for silence sometimes, but she’s suddenly off the counter and across the apartment beside him.

He forgets how good of a stalker she is.

“Hey, Tex - look at this.”

She grabs the front of his shirt, hauls him over to the box of something she’s been rummaging through and nearly shoves his head into it from the excitement. He stabilizes himself against the counter and forces himself backwards and upright, glaring at Tess even as she’s pointing eagerly at the box of individually wrapped packets. 

“Noodles!” she exclaims, as Joel prods at one before uncertainly taking it into his hand. “Ramen noodles! When’s the last time you had one of these?” She picks one up, turning the packet this way and that; as if she isn’t sure if this is a hoax or some sort. 

Joel chuffs, curling his lip at the packet when he reads the ingredients and expiry date. “This’ll probably kill us sooner than help us,” he remarks, and Tess snatches the packet out of his hand with a scowl before moving off to grab the little pot from the sink. He eyes her incredulously. “You’re not really gonna eat it -.”

“Gotta make do with what you get,” Tess shrugs, filling the pot. “Grab the hotplate, will you?”

The man sighs, planting his hands on his hips as he stares at the woman mildly as she rips open two packets and tosses the yellow wavy noodles into the pot of water. If the water itself doesn’t kill them, it’ll be the noodles. “Tess, you don’t know where that’s been,” he warns her. “The government stopped importing the goods ten years back - these shouldn’t exist anymore.” He’s pretty sure it’s illegal now..

“This is coming from a man who ate the can of beans that’s been sitting in the cupboard since we moved in,” she retorts, and Joel huffs indignantly at her even as he’s grabbing the hotplate from the overhead cupboard. “Don’t think I forgot the way you stank up the apartment. We had to keep the windows open for days.”

He’s glad she’s facing the sink away from him because she can’t see his face burning, but he can certainly feel it. “You’re the one tellin’ me to quit wastin’ food,” he grumbles, praying that the hot plate has enough gas to light. “Waste not and want not and all that bullshit.”

It lights.

Tess nudges him out of the way impatiently with her hip, and Joel steps back to watch her as she sets the pot on the hot plate and fusses with the soup seasoning packets. He leans back into the counter, watching the way her shoulders move beneath her shirt; makes a note to double check if it’s just the lighting or the cut of the shirt or if Tess has lost more weight recently because shoulders shouldn’t be that wiry.

Maybe the noodles won’t be so bad.

It’s not long before she’s shoving a bowl of steaming noodles into his hands, and Joel eyes the ramen warily as he twirls his fork around it, looking for some kind of flaw maybe - like a hidden ball of spores. “You used too much water,” he whines, after he’s hazarded a sample. “Thing’s barely got any taste left in it.”

“That’s not my fault, that’s your aging taste buds,” she shoots back, forking a bite of noodles into her mouth and chewing heartily. He watches her face twist, but Tess keeps it down, gagging after. “And maybe the shitty ramen noodles.” She places the bowl down, shuddering as she chugs a bottle of water down to wash out the taste from her mouth.

Joel smirks smugly. “That’s what you get for not listenin’ to me.” He takes both of their bowls and disposes of the noodles, and hears Tess sigh is disappointment as she watches it go. 

“What a shame,” she murmurs, shaking her head slowly. “We could’ve had a great underground noodle smuggling business there.”

 


End file.
